A small group of people trailing behind her, Edwardsburg resident Jeni Lindgren excitedly walks through her home and discusses every detail from the hardwood floors to the fresh paint.

“This is my daughter’s room, for when she visits,” Lindgren said to the group as she opened the door to a bedroom at the end of a hallway. “You guys can see how much we’ve changed it.”

Lindgren then leads the group the stairs into a finished basement. She gestures toward the crown molding and gushes about how lucky she is to have the space.

“I still can’t believe that you all made this possible,” Lindgren said to the group. “Even after all these years, I have to pinch myself.”

Lindgren’s excitement can be explained by the fact that she is no ordinary home owner. In 2001, she was approved to have a home built for her family by Habitat for Humanity. During that time, Lindgren, her family and Habitat for Humanity workers put in 500 hours of work into building her home on Oak Street.

Now, 16 years later, she has finally paid off her home to the charitable organization.

To celebrate the feat, Habitat for Humanity board members organized a celebration in Lindgren’s home, complete with balloons and cupcakes.

“This is our mortgage burning party,” said Linda Preston, a board member of Cass County’s Habitat for Humanity. “She’s paid off her mortgage to us and now the house is officially hers.”

Back in 2001, Lindgren was approved by the organization and began a payment plan on her home.

Lindgren is the first in person in the four years Preston has been on the board to pay off her home. Because of this, the party was also a first for the organization.

“It’s such a blessing to find people who can benefit from the services Habitat provides and to see this all the way to the end,” Preston said. “It’s call for celebration.”

Lindgren said that she is thankful not only for the party, but for all the work that Habitat for Humanity has done for her family.

“It’s been so great,” she said. “They have been such a blessing.”

Lindgren first applied for Habitat for Humanity assistance when she was in her 20s and living with her mother and raising three oldest children.

“It was crazy. I was always wondering how I was going to raise three kids and afford day care and afford a place to rent,” Lindgren said. “Then I heard about Habitat…. It really worked out.”

Since her Habitat for Humanity home was built in 2001, Lindgren has raised six children in the house. She has also remodeled and made the home “the best it can be for [her] children.”

“I’m overly thankful to Habitat. They have brought financial security to us. It’s given my kids a solid home,” Lindgren said. “It’s brought such a sense of stability to our lives.”

Now, after 16 years of payments, Lindgren is glad to finally own her home, she said.

“The last couple years, I’ve really been keeping an eye on what is owed and when we could really nail it,” Lindgren said. “We were finally able to make the payment.”

Despite how excited the board members were for her, Lindgren said no one could be as excited as she is to have her home finally paid off. In fact, when she put her final mortgage check in the mail she took a picture of it to send to her husband.

“It was a rainy day that day, but it didn’t matter,” she said. “It was in the mailbox, so it was a great day.”

Having made many memories in her home for the last 16 years, Lindgren said she is excited to make many more years of memories in her home now that it is finally all hers.

“We’ve had so many good times here. The memories are just amazing,” Lindgren said. “We plan to stay here for a long time.”